Ramblings of love, politics, happenings, and a mid-mid life crisis

I can hear you now.

So, Joe is in California for the summer. We have done the long distance thing before, and knowing that he is your husband and is only going to be gone for 12 weeks is mighty reassuring. That said, the telephone becomes a vital instrument for keeping a relationship happy. So when my phone decided to konk out on me at the end of May, it has made life a little hard.

Joe + Sara: Summer 2009 (haha!)

Granted, the phone still would receive calls and whatnot, I just could not hear the person on the other end unless the speakerphone was on. With all the traveling that I have been doing, it has gotten a bit awkward. Sometimes it was okay sharing my entire conversation with strangers in the terminal. On the way to San Francisco (on my birthday) as several people overheard my conversation and wished me a happy birthday as a result. But the other day, coming back from LA, the plane had landed…my phone beeps indicating that I have a new voicemail. Typically I wouldn’t listen right then, but I was trying to coordinate plans for a airport pickup. So, I dial my voicemail, and put it on speakerphone to hear my messages…

calling to confirm your appointment for…. (“WHERE THE *$%# IS THE END BUTTON????”)

I finally got over the flusteredness, hung up, and shared with the entire plane my womanly medical appointments. (I guess I just shared it with the internet world too, but at least that was willingly.) Anyway, as everyone was staring at me as I tried to blend into the wall, I was laughing and cursing at my phone simultaneously. After a month and a half of speaker phone usage, I needed a new phone.

I did a lot of searching around and realized that getting a phone without signing a new contract is a huge pain. I went to the AT&T store to play around with some options that are out right now, but even the low-end phones (read: crappiest one available) were so expensive w/out a contract. So I looked on ebay…I looked everywhere. From my expeditions to the AT&T store, I found I really liked the LG Vu so I ended up getting it in wine color, & ‘pre-loved’ as it saved me ~ half the cost of the phone.

Introducing my new phone…Viola.

So far, I really like it. I’m honestly waiting for the bottom to fall out as that is typically what happens with technological devices that I like. I have 30 days to try it out so hopefully, if something breaks, its in the next month. It is pretty responsive & easy to use. It allows you little customization of buttons, but there is little need for many shortcuts as most applications are a few taps away. It has the silly, “watch tv on your phone” feature, and I just avoid that button like the plague. It also has a few fun tools standard: tip calculator, world clock, and (my favorite) unit conversion calculator. I sent Joe a test text message and the full screen keyboard is very easy to type on. No word on battery life yet, but I’d imagine that its not that great. I also liked it because of the color! (Note: Please ignore my smudges. That’s one of the negatives. It smears up w/fingerprints constantly!)

It’s not the typical boring black, but it’s also not so flashy (bright pink or red…) that I would feel unprofessional using it at a meeting or conference. It also has some fun voice commands like it will read me my missed calls. (You should hear it (try to) pronounce Joe’s last name. )

Perhaps, I’m amazed by this because my phone was pretty simple before. Even with no internet flashy-ness, it still has a lot of stuff to play with. Perhaps, I’m happy just because I can actually hear people. That is itself makes it an amazing phone to me.

Andrew- Yeah…I pondered that. But then there is the data plan cost and the contract…I may do it in a year or two, but for me, I just wanted a phone that worked without having to rope in my family members to a longer contract! 🙂 I’m guessing you enjoy your new phone??

Emma – 🙂 I also believe in naming your vehicle. For some reason, Joe’s scooter doesn’t have a name yet…maybe it will be the first QueSeraSara contest. Hmmmm…..

I’ve been looking for a smartphone recently as well. Whats your price range? Nokia has a unlocked iphone alternative called Xpressmusic 5800, without a Apple-esque sticker price. Newegg.com bundles it with a businessy bluetooth headset and a 8 GB mini SD card for $300. Though it only comes in boring black.

Vijay- You’ll have to let me know what you decide on! $300 was a lot more than I was willing to pay for a simple replacement phone. (The only reason I let myself get this one is b/c it was used and at a good price.)